Group B: Sham acupuncture. Participants received NSAIDs and analgesics together with non-invasive sham electro acupuncture, which was performed using inactive surface electrodes with audiovisual biofeedback reinforcement, touching patient's skin for seven seconds. 10 acupuncture sessions, twice weekly, 20 minutes per session. Each patient was treated in a separate room.

Overall trial start date

01/05/2003

Overall trial end date

15/01/2004

Reason abandoned

Eligibility

Participant inclusion criteria

1. Age range between 20 and 60 years 2. Painful complaints in the axial line 3. Patients who have not received any Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) or analgesics for three months prior to the inclusion into this trial4. Those who are referred to the Rheumatology Service, University of São Paulo, University Hospital, School of Medicine with diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis according to the New York 15 and European 16 criteria for spondyloarthropathies5. A mean baseline Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score >= 4 for pain